The Cross Pt. 3: The Finished Work of the Cross

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In Part 1, we looked at the severity of man's predicament; in Part 2, we saw the role that the Cross played in man's redemption. Now to close this, we will look at the finished work of the cross.

As mentioned previously, the Cross is THE watershed moment in the history of mankind; it is the turning point in which man, doomed to the Lake of Fire for his disobedience to the Lord, may now be redeemed by the same God that he wronged at the Garden. And it is at that cross that we leave our sin as we embark in a new life with Christ, walking with him instead of wandering in the dark, trying to find our own way.

You see, the Cross is so much more than a piece of wood; it represents the entire walk of the Christian, and is the focus of the Gospel.

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18, NASB)

On it, our sin is nailed, and we leave the decaying husk of the old man. We then take up the mantle of the new man, and start on our walk with the Lord. What we were is left with the Cross, and we are dead to this world and to sin; we are no longer that person, but we are a new creature in Christ. Our sin no longer holds reign over us:

" Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB)

Our old selves are dead, and we are dead to sin and this world as well. No longer prisoners of sin, we are set free because we are crucified with Christ:

“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 1For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 1and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:8-14, NASB)

All the work that was necessary for salvation was done at the Cross; we cannot add to it nor take away from it, because it was the perfect sacrifice. If we try to add to it, we are saying that Christ was not a suitable sacrifice, and that we need to add something of ourselves to it. But Scripture tells us:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” ( Ephesians 2:8-10, NASB)

The Cross is the only acceptable satisfaction of God's justice in the matter of mankind's sin against him; no other form of payment will ever suffice. No other payment is necessary. Ours is to rest in the Lord, and heed His Word as we walk with Him. Our instructions are as follows:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,” (Ephesians 6:10-18, NASB)

When we try to stand, fight or whatever in our own strength, we are easy prey for Satan; he has us right where he wants us, and as a former angel, he has FAR more power than we mere humans do. And he will use whatever he has at his disposal to wrestle us off the Rock of our salvation. But when we rest in Christ's finished work on the Cross, Satan cannot compete with the power of Christ. Just as we are weaker than Satan, Satan by FAR is weaker than Christ.

“When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” (Colossians 2:15, NASB)



In this series, I have tried my best to explain the meaning of the Cross as I believe we should understand it. I am sure there are those out there that can explain it better, and I am certain that I have left out important points that need to be told. That being said, I hope this is at least some help to folks out there who read this.

I also pray that this series might lead those who have not accepted God’s incredible gift yet to come to Him and do so. If the Lord has somehow through this touched your heart and you want to be saved, this is what you need to do:

Admit you are a sinner:

As we discussed earlier, all mankind have sinned before God and are guilty before him. In prayer (in your own words), tell God that you are a sinner. Recognize that what the Bible says about YOU personally is true, and that you deserve the penalty that the Bible says God has put against man for sinning against him. Just go to him honestly, without making any excuses for it. He's not going to berate you or condemn you for telling him this.


Be willing to turn from your sins:

This means that all the things you have done against God, you are willing to turn from and leave behind. Anything that is displeasing to God, including living for yourself, is what you are willing to turn your back on in order to come to Him. You are willing to come to God and leave all of that to be with the Lord.


Believe that Christ died for you:

Believe that Christ paid the penalty for you; that he, God almighty, came to earth as a man and died upon the cross, shedding his precious blood, God's blood, for you. He carried the awesome burden and paid the price so that you could live forever with him in heaven. Believe that he was resurrected, and ascended to heaven in glory. You believe that Jesus Christ was whom he claimed to be, and that he did what the Gospels claim he did. That he is God, he came here to die in YOUR place, and as he promised, he rose victoriously from the dead.


Ask Christ to save you:

Putting aside all pride, self-determination and ego, ask the Lord to come into your heart and rescue you from your sins. You cannot get to heaven on your own, and no one else can save you; you recognize that, and are relying on God alone to save you from your sins. Ask the Lord Jesus to save you.


If you do this, ask in all faith for Him to save you from your sins, the Lord will hear you and true to His word...HE WILL SAVE YOU.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB)


I bid you all peace.


YBIC,


-Sojo414

 

[mattfivefour]

Yes, the Cross is indeed THE watershed moment in history. As you say, "all the work that was necessary for salvation was done at the Cross; we cannot add to it nor take away from it, because it was the perfect sacrifice." Amen! And not only is it complete for salvation, but for sanctification, too. Just as faith in Christ's finished work on the Cross saves us, so too does faith in that same object sanctify us. How awesome to realize just how fully Christ has saved us!!! How can we not live in obedience and love in response to His incomparable love for us?

 

[Ronnie]

I am more of a empty tomb guy, but don't get me wrong I do not demenish or discount the efficacy and purpose of the cross. What could be more glorious than God joining/identifying me with Christ on the cross, in his death, burial and resurrection. God killed that son of Adam that was me and making me his adopted son in and through Christ.

I have often though about the cross and wondered what part does it play in our post cross lives, I don't have the answer. Is it all history or is it relevant for me today.

 

[mattfivefour]

I have often though about the cross and wondered what part does it play in our post cross lives, I don't have the answer. Is it all history or is it relevant for me today.

Jesus is the source of all we have and will ever have. The Cross is the means by which it was made available to us. The empty tomb --ie: the Resurrection-- is the proof that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross was fully effective and acceptable. But make no mistake: everything necessary for our salvation was finished on the Cross, as shown by Christ's last word before committing Himself to the Father and dying-- tetelestai, It is finished. (John 19:30).

The specific form of this word in John 19:30 describes a completed action in the present time. In other words, at this very moment, it is finished. And the word itself was used to describe a debt paid in full. Thus Jesus was saying that what He was sent to do (to finish the Father's work--John 4:34) was now complete.

On the Cross was the very first time in history that God and said, "It is done." He never said it when He finished creation: at that time He simply said "It is good." Now, however, He said "It is finished" because at that moment, finally --with the completion of Christ's suffering on our behalf-- God's work on behalf of man was at last finished ... because man was now eternally reconciled to Him.

The empty tomb --that is to say, the Resurrection-- is the clear and indisputable proof that Christ's sacrifice was fully effective and entirely acceptable to God. But it was the proof our salvation was complete, not the means.

The Holy Spirit is the agent that makes it all operative in our lives. And our faith in Christ and His sacrifice is the act that enables God to instantaneously transfer us from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of Jesus Christ, redeeming us and forgiving us of all our sin (Colossians 1:12-13).

Now, salvation is both instantaneous and progressive, in that we are instantly given the status of salvation, namely the character of Christ due to our identification with Him through faith; but --on this earth-- we must grow into His character, His nature, due to the fact that we are in human, fallen flesh which can never be saved or redeemed. It is rotten to the core and one day will rot in the grave. Until then, it exists. Therefore, our old man, our old nature with which we are born still exists, although he has received the death sentence. Our new man, the saved and sanctified man, exists in us also, but as an eternal seed that has sprung to life and will grow and produce fruit just as surely as any good fruit tree will.

It is in the nature of the seed itself that an entire future plant or tree resides. The farmer does not have to do anything to get an apple tree (for example) to produce apples. He simply tends the tree, protecting it from harm. The apple tree will inevitably produce apples. They will simply appear in their time. In the same way, our fruit --which is the very nature of Christ: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control-- will appear on us. It is inevitable. And God, as a good farmer, will water us, fertilize us, prune us, protect us so that we will indeed bear our fruit ... the fruit He has the right to expect.

We can help that process along by cooperating with God. Feeding on His Word, being watered through worship, staying close to Him in prayer, being faithful in focus and in obedience, all helps the Holy Spirit remove the dross in us and purify us so the pure fruit of the Spirit will appear at the right time and we will bring forth our harvest unto God ... just as He desired when He created us and saved us.

Do you see, then, that our sanctification springs from the Cross just as surely as does our salvation? Therefore our faith must continually be in Christ alone and what He finished on the Cross. And in that truth is the power of God revealed. This is why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18-- "For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Amen!

I pray this helps.

 

[Ronnie]

Brother Adrian I will read this mañana because my eyes keep closing to sleep like this puppy (Link)

 

[....]

I am more of a empty tomb guy, but don't get me wrong I do not demenish or discount the efficacy and purpose of the cross. What could be more glorious than God joining/identifying me with Christ on the cross, in his death, burial and resurrection. God killed that son of Adam that was me and making me his adopted son in and through Christ.

I have often though about the cross and wondered what part does it play in our post cross lives, I don't have the answer. Is it all history or is it relevant for me today.

Because whenever we slip, make mistakes or sin in any other way, it is the cross upon which those sins, past, present and future, are all nailed.

Without the cross, the empty tomb could never have happened, nor the arrival of the Holy Spirit as our paraclete.

 

[mattfivefour]

Because whenever we slip, make mistakes or sin in any other way, it is the cross upon which those sins, past, present and future, are all nailed.

Without the cross, the empty tomb could never have happened, nor the arrival of the Holy Spirit as our paraclete.

Beautifully and simply said, brother!